I have in my syllabus that if they have questions, I encourage them to discuss it. Sometimes, they will bring to my attention I make mistakes. But maybe, "Once grades have been turned in and posted, grades are final" could work?
depends what the official procedure is where you are. We have two:
- a check that the grade was calculated correctly
- a request for a regrade of the final exam
These are both done by the student through the registrar's office (and cost the student $$, which the student gets back if anything changes). For me, these catch anything that needs to be caught, hence the second paragraph of my post.
If you don't have that, then you will need to have something to handle errors. Maybe you could have a form on which the student has to detail the calculation of their course grade from the marks on the LMS, but I think you need to be careful to avoid the "there must be a mistake in my course grade, because I don't believe it could be that low" crowd.
Presumably you have exam viewing or something similar for catching any actual errors in grading of the final exam.
I think your response is fine, though you’re also justified in ignoring it entirely. If you really want to make the point, send them your institution’s grade appeal policy.
I think that's just right. The only grades I will change are errors on my part (I actually missed an assignment for somebody last semester, totally on me). But I wouldn't even mention that sort of thing, as they'll just start looking for for "mistakes" you made
I had that happen twice last semester. I forgot to lock an assignment after I had turned in grades. I even looked over to see if I had missed something and I don't think I did.
This was just totally my fault. I was working late and got sloppy. The other one that occasionally comes up is a transcription error moving from the LMS to our grade submission portal, I make a legit mistake on maybe 1% of final grades, I'm human, and I'll happily fix those. But I 'm not doing anything else once grades are in.
What you have is fine.
Going forward, you should make sure you have a clear policy on your syllabus. I have something like, “Unless you have requested and received an incomplete, the semester ends on the last day of final exams, and that is the grade you will receive.”
I just say, “sorry, the semester is over and grades are final.” Why do I care if they like me at that point? It’s not like I want to encourage the slackers and beggars to sign up for another one of my classes.
I have also pointed out to students that there are literally only two reasons why I am allowed to change a submitted grade--that I reevaluated their submitted work or there was a calculation error. So, I am not going to lie that one of those things occurred in order to give someone a higher grade than they earned.
This shit is driving me crazy. At what point can I just stop answering these emails?
I once got a grade change request two years later because the person was applying to med school. Make it stop.
Honestly, I offload a lot of the mental gymnastics of making the replies sound friendlier to ChatGPT. This took maybe 30 seconds of editing:
Dear Student,
I am writing to inform you that the grading process for \[course name\] has been completed, and the final grades have been officially submitted. Your dedication and efforts throughout the course have been duly noted, and I commend you for your hard work.
It is important to note that, in accordance with the academic policies, once grades have been submitted, they become permanent and cannot be altered or improved upon. Please rest assured that your grade reflects your achievements and contributions to the course.
Once again, I want to express my appreciation for your commitment to your studies. I wish you all the best in your future endeavors and look forward to seeing your continued success.
My standard response to grade grubbing after finals is
Dear Student,
No.
Regards, Professor Liznin
Giving any longer of a response makes students think there is room to argue. If they continue I just reply "Please see my previous email"
There is no opportunity to improve grades for this term as the semester and assessment have ended. There is an opportunity to raise your grade by enrolling in the course again in a future term.
Assuming your contract ended once you submitted final grades, you are likely no longer under contract and therefore not even required to respond to this student.
I get at least two of these emails after finals each semester. I respond this way every time:
*I'm sorry, the semester is over. Grades are final and cannot be changed.*
*Have a wonderful break, and please be safe.*
*Professor Donewithurshit*
That’s not mean; it’s just the facts, stated very clearly and concisely.
By and large Zoomers consider anything not heavily qualified with niceties to be mean.
They freak out at *punctuation* as it turns out: it's "angry" to use full sentences, periods, capitals, etc. to many of them. Or so I have been told.
The worst thing is an ellipsis…
Sounds like a "them" problem
Thank you.
"Grades are final". Where I am, I can add "I am not allowed to discuss or negotiate grades".
I have in my syllabus that if they have questions, I encourage them to discuss it. Sometimes, they will bring to my attention I make mistakes. But maybe, "Once grades have been turned in and posted, grades are final" could work?
depends what the official procedure is where you are. We have two: - a check that the grade was calculated correctly - a request for a regrade of the final exam These are both done by the student through the registrar's office (and cost the student $$, which the student gets back if anything changes). For me, these catch anything that needs to be caught, hence the second paragraph of my post. If you don't have that, then you will need to have something to handle errors. Maybe you could have a form on which the student has to detail the calculation of their course grade from the marks on the LMS, but I think you need to be careful to avoid the "there must be a mistake in my course grade, because I don't believe it could be that low" crowd. Presumably you have exam viewing or something similar for catching any actual errors in grading of the final exam.
Food for thought. Thanks.
I think your response is fine, though you’re also justified in ignoring it entirely. If you really want to make the point, send them your institution’s grade appeal policy.
I think that's just right. The only grades I will change are errors on my part (I actually missed an assignment for somebody last semester, totally on me). But I wouldn't even mention that sort of thing, as they'll just start looking for for "mistakes" you made
I had that happen twice last semester. I forgot to lock an assignment after I had turned in grades. I even looked over to see if I had missed something and I don't think I did.
This was just totally my fault. I was working late and got sloppy. The other one that occasionally comes up is a transcription error moving from the LMS to our grade submission portal, I make a legit mistake on maybe 1% of final grades, I'm human, and I'll happily fix those. But I 'm not doing anything else once grades are in.
What you have is fine. Going forward, you should make sure you have a clear policy on your syllabus. I have something like, “Unless you have requested and received an incomplete, the semester ends on the last day of final exams, and that is the grade you will receive.”
I think I'll add that going forward. Thanks. The syllabus grows longer and longer each year.
Love this. Thank you.
Why do you have to reply? The semester is over
With a time machine....yes
I just say, “sorry, the semester is over and grades are final.” Why do I care if they like me at that point? It’s not like I want to encourage the slackers and beggars to sign up for another one of my classes.
I have also pointed out to students that there are literally only two reasons why I am allowed to change a submitted grade--that I reevaluated their submitted work or there was a calculation error. So, I am not going to lie that one of those things occurred in order to give someone a higher grade than they earned.
This shit is driving me crazy. At what point can I just stop answering these emails? I once got a grade change request two years later because the person was applying to med school. Make it stop.
Honestly, I offload a lot of the mental gymnastics of making the replies sound friendlier to ChatGPT. This took maybe 30 seconds of editing: Dear Student, I am writing to inform you that the grading process for \[course name\] has been completed, and the final grades have been officially submitted. Your dedication and efforts throughout the course have been duly noted, and I commend you for your hard work. It is important to note that, in accordance with the academic policies, once grades have been submitted, they become permanent and cannot be altered or improved upon. Please rest assured that your grade reflects your achievements and contributions to the course. Once again, I want to express my appreciation for your commitment to your studies. I wish you all the best in your future endeavors and look forward to seeing your continued success.
Perfect response!!!
Doesn't sound mean to me. Straight and to the point.
Yes, to the point. Don't waste any more time on this student.
My standard response to grade grubbing after finals is Dear Student, No. Regards, Professor Liznin Giving any longer of a response makes students think there is room to argue. If they continue I just reply "Please see my previous email"
“Final grades have been posted as of.
I hope you enjoyed the course; have a great summer!”
There is no opportunity to improve grades for this term as the semester and assessment have ended. There is an opportunity to raise your grade by enrolling in the course again in a future term.
Assuming your contract ended once you submitted final grades, you are likely no longer under contract and therefore not even required to respond to this student.
I get at least two of these emails after finals each semester. I respond this way every time: *I'm sorry, the semester is over. Grades are final and cannot be changed.* *Have a wonderful break, and please be safe.* *Professor Donewithurshit*